1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a methanol reforming catalyst for use in the production of hydrogen from methanol, a process for producing the same, and a method for reforming methanol.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The demand is increasing for a highly purified hydrogen gas to be used as, for example, an atmospheric gas for use in the production of semiconductors, and a fuel for use in a fuel cell, the future spread of which is anticipated. Accordingly, various hydrogen producing techniques have been developed. In particular, the technique in which methanol is cracked is drawing attention as a process for obtaining hydrogen on a small or medium scale in accordance with the above uses. This is because the technique for mass-producing methanol from a variety of resources such as petroleum, coal and natural gas has been established in recent years, so that it can be obtained at a lowered cost, and that methanol is safer than hydrogen gas in handling so as to facilitate its transportation and storage and to permit realization of a system for easily producing hydrogen.
Various catalysts for use in methanol reforming are known, including those disclosed in the specifications of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 47281/1974, 56302/1982, 17836/1983, 131501/1984, 96504/1985, 77103/1985 and 77104/1985 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 11274/1979. Further, a catalyst for use in cracking methanol to obtain hydrogen is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 166937/1983. In addition, a process for producing methanol in the presence of an amorphous alloy as a catalyst is described in the specification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 87233/1985.
All the above conventional methanol reforming catalysts do not always exhibit satisfactory performance in practical use. Further, the production of the catalysts has a problem in that the process is complicated and it is difficult to obtain high catalytic activities, because a metal salt or oxide is used as the starting material, so that a treatment comprising heating in an air stream containing hydrogen to reduce part of the metal oxide or hydroxide is essential for imparting a catalytic activity to the catalysts. In particular, the catalyst described in the specification of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 166937/1983 is produced by a chemical process in which a metal salt is also employed as the starting material, thereby bringing about a drawback in that the process is time-consuming and complex.